The difference in French attitude about this case is, of course, the alleged violence. Mr. Strauss-Kahn, long known for his “libertine” behavior with women, was charged with attempted rape and other crimes against a hotel maid.

Had this been “merely” a report of a consensual extramarital affair – such as the one Strauss-Kahn had with a subordinate colleague at the IMF – the French would have turned over in bed and gone back to sleep. Certainly the IMF board did so in 2008, when it took no stronger action against this brilliant economist than to chastise him.